The Epic of Creation
by Omega Zekrom
Summary: As its name clearly states, how the Pokemon world as we know it came to be. Written for fun, and because I've been itching for something else. All religious/cultural references unintentional, and no offense intended. Also, all laws of physics and related science took a vacation. Subsequent chapters are one-shots. Accepting OCs!
1. Chapter 1: Arceus' Gifts

_Arceus' Gifts_

The universe started as a sea of energy.

There was no time in the sea, nor was there space. Many coasted in its life-giving flow, but the beings which ruled were made of pure energy, and constantly roamed the sea of light. Each had the strength of a hundred suns, and They drew Their life force from the Source, a swirling orb at the centre of Their world, feeding off it in ritualistic ceremonies. As They had no physical form, They could do no harm to the world They lived in, and as a result none could do harm to Them.

It was prophesied by the first being that at the cusp of an arc - Their sole measurement of the notion of time - a creature vastly different from anything They had ever seen before will destroy Them.

The prophecy greatly worried the immortal beings, so They went to great pain to annihilate all They deemed as threats. What They could not kill They would cripple. What They could not cripple they discredited.

They took special effort to search for and eradicate the prophesied threat during the moments before and after each arc. Eight came while seven passed, and each time They either sent the creature into exile; to wander the Wastelands for all eternity, or They trapped the creature within the confines of Their dungeons, never to see the light of the Source.

As the eighth arc ended and the ninth began, an egg hatched.

The Hatchling took a physical body, and with the aid of seven spirits it had freed from Their prison or summoned from the Wastelands, it conquered Them. It stormed Their home, chasing Them out of Their fortress, finally cornering Them at the Source. The Elder admitted defeat, and with a bow of his head awaited the noble death of his race. But the Hatchling saw within his eyes remorse, and with that in mind banished Them to the farthest reaches of the known world.

With Them gone, the spirits retreated into the flow, scattering their souls and sending their bodies into hibernation. The Hatchling shed its body and replaced it with a new form. With that transformation he took on the title of Arceus. He turned His gaze to the unordered realm, and with His claws cleaved the Source apart. He released the energy and let it spill upon His inherited dimension, and named it the Nexus. He moulded the rushing streams into His first children. The elder twin, Dialga, He tasked to shackle and give order to the tangled strands of time, the younger twin, Palkia, He tasked to weave the tapestry of space, while the firstborn, Giratina, He tasked to create the framework on which all would rest on.

Even as the rushing torrents meandered and twisted to His children's will, it struggled to be free of the bonds they placed on it. So Arceus extracted the heart of the Source, and ripped it apart from its shadow. He named the white angel of flame Reshiram, the black demon of lightning Zekrom, and the empty shell they left behind Kyurem. The dragons of yin and yang maintained the balance of the flow, and their brother, though he hungered for the energy they generated, took it upon himself to ensure that none came in the way of their duty.

Now Arceus worried for His empty worlds. They were maelstroms of blank space shifting in time, and there was no life in them. So He created three more children. The colossus He named Groudon, who raised the rocks and mountains of the world. The leviathan He named Kyogre, who formed the seas and rivers alike. The serpent He named Rayquaza, who maintained the wind and gave form to the life-giving air.

As nature took root, Arceus seeded the myriad dimensions with plants. There was no opposition for the trees and shrubs, and even the smallest sprout grew to towering heights. Next He scattered beings with ties to the Nexus in some worlds, and creatures who relied on only their wit and claws in others. The former He called pokemon, and the latter animals.

The sentient creatures kept the wild growth in check, gnawing on leaves or bones, keeping His worlds in balance. He watched as they evolved to fit their habitat, and noticing that they suffered from the whims of nature, He created yet more deities to control the flow of energy.

The silver bird of soul Lugia anchored the deep-sea currents, while her brother, the phoenix of wisdom Ho-Oh, safeguarded the chaotic winds in the sky.

The daughters of Lugia took to the skies while their mother stayed in the icy depths, and from their perch above all but Rayquaza himself watched over and kept the peace. Moltres dived in lakes of molten lava, Zapdos soared through clouds of thunder and lightning, and Articuno skirted her frozen forests.

The children of Ho-Oh, a daughter and two sons, roamed the earth. Entei roared with the fury of the volcano from whence he came, Raikou snarled with the rumbling perseverance of the storms, and Suicune howled with the strength of the north wind, her voice bringing its chill to even the most remote of valleys.

Regigigas was moulded out of the wet clay from the banks on which Kyogre made the first ocean and Groudon raised the first mountain. It had the soul of a Pokémon, the mind of a machine, and the body of a giant. It dragged the haphazard continents together with ropes of vines that the citizens of the worlds had given it. This continued for each world it visited, until it's duty was done. Then it carved its servants - from the rocks of every world Regirock, from the burnished iron Registeel, from the never-melting ice Regice - and commanded them to stand vigilant against all who would undo their master's work.

Yet more deities came. The bi-coloured birds of eon Latias and Latios, the crackling pranksters of the hurricane Thundurus and Tornadus, their master Landorus, the being of living magma Heatran, the shadow of nightmares Darkrai, the full-moon's glow Cresselia, the voice of the forest Celebi, the gardener Shaymin, the wish-granter Jirachi, the fairy of beginning Mew, the prince of the sea Manaphy, the drifting servant Phione, the symbol of victory Victini, the serene dancer Meloetta...

Each Arceus loved with all His heart, yet the itch would not stop. Yes, it was a quirk in His soul had driven the Creator to form more Pokemon, not only his boundless concern.

So Arceus gave life to his fourth set of creations - the humans. They were the least connected to the Nexus, and as a result had none of the land-sense even the simplest of animals had. But they made up for their flaw with adaptable minds and agile fingers. He watched as they shambled to and fro, walking with dead eyes and leaden feet, sometimes even sitting in one spot and refusing to move. He realised that the humans, being detached from His realm, lacked the vigor of His other creations. So Arceus distilled the essence of His realm, giving rise to the being of knowledge Uxie, the being of willpower Azelf, and the being of emotions Mesprit. Together they provided the humans with the knowledge to survive, the will to live, and the ability to enjoy it to the fullest.

But humans only went on to cultivate the dark emotions. Jealousy, greed, rage, hatred... And fear. They continuously fought over the smallest things, learning new ways to kill each other in cold-blooded murder for simple pleasures, and kin would take revenge with knives in hand. Arceus mourned every human who died an unnatural death, feeling their last release of breathe as a twisting pain in His heart.

So the Creator returned to the Nexus, and drew from the flowing Source. He darkened a handful to make His blood-stained reaper; the black flame of calamity Yveltal, who would take the lives of human and pokemon alike when he saw fit. Then to counter the black flame He brightened another handful, giving rise to His shining breathe of life; the cobalt tree of light Xerneas, whose antlers blessed those who would strive for peace and quietude. The residue from both creations He combined, and together with His own blood He made the shifting cobra of the land Zygarde, who kept his hexagonal eyes on the wars between his siblings.

The agony of death lessened, but the dissonance in His soul increased. Arceus left the dimensions and returned to the Nexus, resolving to search for an end. He endured the ceaseless tide of time, and ventured beyond the endless boundaries of space, but to no avail. Next He turned His gaze onto His creations. He was drawn to the rivals, time and space; fire and lightning; land and sea; dreams and nightmares; life and death... And understood.

He ripped apart His shadow, and cast it into the most inhospitable dimension He could find. "You are the Destroyer; the Unmaker; It who will tear the worlds asunder. You are my anima, and I will wage war against you until you cease your madness."

The shadow reared up and gave itself a body of roiling darkness. "I am the Destroyer, you are the Creator. I swear with first breathe to strike you down, and should my oath be broken I will crumble in your stead. I am the darkness and you are the light, but who is to say that light will win this war?" Its crimson eyes flashed and with a flap of Its tattered wings It sealed the tear between the Nexus and Its realm.

Up till now the walls between the worlds were weak, and the deities could cross freely from world to world with hardly any effort. But with the birth of the Destroyer the walls strengthened, and no longer yielded to them. So Arceus split their souls apart, sending each fragment to do the owner's duty in the worlds. Giratina and Zygarde He left whole, for the former now had the unexpected duty of ferryman of the dead, while the latter would slither about the bowels of the worlds, constantly sifting through the silt which fell between dimensions.

Arceus called back the seven spirits, and summoned seven of His own creations. "In three arcs I have committed a grave crime against my children, one which threatens to undo all that you have achieved, and for this I will repent. But in the next war I will expend all my strength, for if I do not all my effort will be for nothing." He turned to His children. "Before you all stand the first seven, beings older and stronger than even me. I made you in their image, so now you must bear their strength on your shoulders." Clarity He gave to Articuno, Hope He gave to Rayquaza, Joy He gave to Mew, Sorrow He gave to Kyogre, Rage He gave to Heatran, Hatred He gave to Groudon and Fear He gave to Giratina. "These gifts you must carry for all eternity, until you find apprentices you can call sons and daughters to pass on the burden to."

The seven guardians left for their forts, nursing the spark that was the spirits within them.

Now the Creator gave His final gift. He called Them back, and explained His task. It was simple: Be the judge of all that exists, including Him. He had little faith in Himself, so the Deoxi would have to, as a whole, decide the victor. Likewise, They would have to constantly judge Themselves, and when Their task was complete, They could shed the physical bodies They had claimed as Their own and return to the Nexus.

Each arc which followed heralded a war; a clash between Creator and Destroyer. He who sided with the humans was named the Arceus for the duration of the arc, regardless of whether or not He advocated life. According to Their word the Deoxi picked the victor in each case, and Their choice decided the state of the dimensions.

It took three wars for Arceus to banish the humans; to cleanse the land of their poisonous touch and toxic actions. But their disappearance from the weave destabilized the environment itself, causing once peaceful Pokemon to turn wild; to murder each other for no reason at all. But worse was the formation of vortexes, within which Ferals as they were now called ganged up against trespassers.

Again His hands were stained with the blood of His creations, so after the next arc He cast the Destroyer away, and hid the paths between dimensions. With the last of His strength, Arceus retreated into the Nexus. "The next battle will be the last. To the victor goes the multiverse, so to will the reins of fate."

And so was writ on the heart of the worlds.

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**Yeah, I'm done. This was entirely written on a whim, in school no less, so you don't have to take this seriously. But, and this is a big BUT, the Epic of Creation can be considered as my headcanon, so bits of it might make their appearance in my various pokemon-related fics. If you have any objections to what's written, or are all "Oh no, based on the something-or-another, this didn't happen, _that_ did!" then keep it to yourself. I'll reiterate. This. Is written. On. A. Whim.**

**Now on the subject of OCs. I feel kind of bad for not going into detail, so I may make some oneshots which go further in-depth into some of the events. If you want to give your own two cents, try submitting a character! I don't need much, but here's the form for reference.**

Name: (Not needed. If blank, I'll treat the species name as its name)

Gender:

Species

Rough age:

Personality: (A brief one is sufficient, but two sentences minimum to give me a feel)

Others:

**See what I mean? They'll probably make cameos in a chapter each. If none are submitted and I feel like typing, then I'll just come up with my own.**

**Thanks for reading! Review if you feel like it, as comments and criticism alike will be much appreciated.**

**-Zek**


	2. Chapter 2: Labours of the Giant

_Labours of the Giant_

It was dawn.

Sunlight peeked over towering emerald crowns, bathing everything in light. Below, foragers were rousing themselves for a day of snorting in damp mud, while harsh caws signaled the beginning of sleep for the nocturnal flyers. It was like this everyday – a mess of screams, whoops, roars and rumbles – but to the brown raccoon it was a surprise every time.

Sentret whined at the noise while she clambered up to the next branch, taking care to side-step a patch of dank fur. There was food to be had near the top of the trees, where the leaves were see-through from the blinding light, but that was where Flyers slept. She lifted her nose to scan the area, twitching from the brutal assault of scents and pheromones. At least there were no hunters nearby. Night Hunters were scaaaary, and Sentret wanted to be nowhere near them. On the up side, since it was day time, they were asleep and too far into whatever dream land they visited to bother about her. On the flip side however, Day Hunters prowled below the canopy, and they were partial to flailing sentret.

_Rumble…_

A cacophony of shrieks exploded far away. Frowning, Sentret plucked a juicy qualot from a overhanging branch, then leapt upwards for a better view. Black specks rushed into the air as trees fell in the distance, screaming out their fear and rage at the loss of their homes. Sentret cocked her head. In general, trees provided hiding for her, and Sentret's brown fur blended in well enough for her to avoid predators. So falling trees was bad. Plus, they bore fruit and nuts, and were homes for small insects and grubs, so without trees she wouldn't have food. Definitely bad. So why were the trees falling? Surely no right-minded pokemon or animal could ever wish for the jungle to disappear!

Sentret bit into the qualot. And it wasn't just there either. As she squinted she noticed other patches bereft of foliage, and with a whimper she realised that they formed a path. A path which stretched from very, very far away. A path which stretched from very, very far away, _and was coming towards her._

The fruit dropped from her paws, falling to the ground where it lay among tossed earth and rotting leaves. Normally this would have been considered a huge loss, but Sentret was too afraid to bother. The rumbles sounded like foot steps, but what creature could be big enough to fell trees? It would have to be huge! Heart pounding, Sentret threw herself off the branch, streaking past other creatures, paws outstretched as she glided forwards, claws skittering against rough bark as she scrambled for purchase. Beneath her dark shadows, sleek and muscular, darted among other pokemon as they surged ahead, ignoring the herd of stantler in their rush for escape. Lumbering torterra stampeded beside equally heavy venasaur, wide-eyed with terror. Sentret's eyes tunnel-visioned, and all she could see was the next step. Leap, flap, land, step. Leap, flap, land, step. Leap… It was all one huge blur.

_Rumble!_

So close, so close, so close! What was that thing? Why was it here? Did it eat sentrets? Even as her legs merged together in a brown whirl of limbs and adrenaline fed them to move faster, faster, faster! Sentret could not suppress the wriggling curiousity in her heart. The largest pokemon she had ever seen was that giant ferrothorn in one of the jungle's many caves, and even then it paled in comparison to the huge wailords in the sea miles away from here, all the way through Rocky Pass and past the dense pillars in Granite Grove. Yet twenty metre long sea mammals could not come onto land. The conundrum irked her _so _much, and it was all she could do not to stop and cast a glance back. Her mother used to say that one day her curiousity would kill her – if her love for a certain fox didn't first – and that if Sentret didn't give in to the urge she would probably regret it so much that she might as well have, so death came either way.

_RUMMMMMBBBLLLLEEEEE…_

Mother of Mew! Sentret looked at her paws. Since when did she stop gliding? She spun around so fast she almost got a whiplash. All the pokemon were gone, save for some lagging ekans and a crippled rufflet.

"Save yourself!" Was that rufflet talking to her? "I've seen the beast, and its huge! It was dragging trees behind it, scraping their roots against the ground."

Sentret visibly perked. To Distortion with fear! She needed to know how the creature looked like, and quickly! "You've seen it? How big is it? Does it walk on two legs or four? Does it have fur, scales or feathers?" She grinned despite the desperate roaring in her ears, opting to seal out the fading chaos of fleeing pokemon in favour of listening to the rufflet.

Suddenly, an ekans raised his scaled head, slit pupils narrowing in fear. "If you wissshhh to sssee it, here it isss…" He looped his body over a narrow branch and disappeared along with the rest of his group, leaving behind a quiet "Good luck..."

The rufflet made a choking noise, and Sentret swore it blanched underneath his feathers. Following his outstretched wing, she understood why.

There was a freaking _wall _of white. It towered over everything, only relenting to the tallest of trees, and even then it wore the canopies like crowns of viridian leaves. True to the rufflet's word, it was dragging a handful of trees, roots and all, leaving behind deep furrows of disturbed dirt. Sentret momentarily wondered if the murkrow would have a field day.

**Why do you not run forest dweller?**

Ahahahahah, for a moment there, it seemed like the titan was-

**Of course I speak.**

But the creature's speech was nothing like Sentret had heard before. It was deep and gravelly, shaking her to the core, yet also smooth as water in a crystal clear lake and piercing as a shard of metal, all at the same time. More important than that, was the fact that the creature spoke without a mouth. The sound seemed to come from everywhere, yet simultaneously it came from nowhere. The branch shook as the rufflet fluttered onto it, wincing as his wing jolted. "Well then... Excuse me if I ask for your species." He tried to look imposing, but, as Sentret noticed, it was difficult to puff up chest feathers when your knees were knocking together hard enough to shake your whole body.

The titan seemed amused. It lowered its body, letting the second row of eyes stare blankly at the duo. **My creator called me Regigigas.** Then, as if sensing their unasked query, it continued. **He tasked me to pull the continents together, but it was never my wish to destroy your home.** Sentret tilted her head, nibbling gently on her lip. Was that sorrow she heard? But why would a being as large as Regigigas be sorry for her? She was insignificant; inconsequential; trivial, negligible, paltry -

**Do not belittle yourself, no matter how small you may be. **Was that a _smile_!? Wait, but he didn't even have a mouth...? **If Arceus created you, that must mean He saw something in you that was worth His effort. **The titan's gaze wandered, or wandered as much as seven black pinpricks (which were as large as her _face_) could. **But I must be going. I am truly sorry for your home. I hope I can make it up to you one day.**

"You already can." Eh? "I have a broken wing - it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. My flock abandoned me after a machoke snapped it, so I might as well follow you." Ehhh? Sentret stared at Regigigas' shoulders. Right beside what should be his shoulder blades was a bunch of grass and bushes growing right out of his body. The sentret rubbed her paws together in glee. There were berries in there. Tons of them. Enough to last her for ages without ever coming down. And now that she was looking directly at the twin patches, was it just her or was one of the bushes shimmering?

**I do not mind.** He rumbled, stretching out a three-fingered hand for the duo to leap on to. **Passengers are the least of my worries, and who is to say the three of you will not repay me one day? You are welcome to follow for as long as you like, children of Arceus.** Three? Never mind, Sentret vowed to get to the bottom of that mystery later, after she orally documented the wide array of berries.

The titan got back onto his feet and continued on his way, singing tunelessly in his earthy baritone, listening as the prideful rufflet and carefree sentret coaxed his first friend out of hiding. The handful of trees lay forgotten where he had set them down, far from where he had originally plucked them. Perhaps when the forest pokemon and animals alike ventured back to examine his trail of unintended destruction, they would find use for the sturdy wood, much like how a ratata was gnawing on its surprising find of a tree-top berry on the forest floor.

* * *

**Another story to add to my earlier update. This essentially documents the Regigigas legend, though it happens before he figures out how to drag the continents together. You'll notice that Sentret originally referred to him as an 'it' but switched to 'he' later on. No, that is not a typo.**

**Also, this is a tiny shout out to my first reader of The Epic of Creation. I'm sure you found it.**

**-Zek, 31/08/14**


	3. Chapter 3: Idyllic Escapades

**I really don't know why I wrote this. Really, I don't. This takes place after the creation of the Unmaker, so remember that.**

* * *

_Idyllic Escapades_

"Fancy seeing you here milady."

The wolfish deity languidly turned to meet the speaker. "I could say the same to you. What brings you here?" The suicune lowered herself onto her haunches, calmly propping her head with silky paws. Harsh winds howled through the rocky passes, bringing with it the chill of the north wind. The nearest settlement was hundreds of miles away at the foot of the mountains, so the suicune's gaze could wandered unhindered towards the glacial lake a mile below her current perch, while her snout curling into a smile at the gently lapping waves.

The speaker floated over, then settled on the rocky ledge with a sigh. "Same reason why you're here - to watch the sunrise." He smoothened her sky-blue fur then leaned against the suicune's shoulder, staring at the fading darkness from half-closed eyes. He always found the light extremely soothing, and with his head against Satsuki's shoulder, this time was no exception. "Arceus really did a good job with dawn and dusk, didn't he?"

The suicune gave an unlady-like snort. "You really believe he created that? Please. I doubt he's able to so much as create a tear in a paper bag."

"So much faith you have in your maker."

She swiveled to meet the jirachi's gaze. "The only maker I need is Ho-Oh, and _he's _doing a pretty good job of giving me the strength to restrain myself from hitting weak-willed believers who pass their day in blissful ignorance." She huffed.

The jirachi chuckled. "Touchy today aren't we, Queen? But really." His voice turned serious, all traces of casual mirth gone. "You really don't have a sliver of faith in Arceus? Not even a tiny bit?"

"Oh I have faith in him." Satsuki met his gaze evenly, causing the jirachi to shiver slightly from the barely-hidden fury within. "I have faith that he'll see this war through to the end. But I will have even more faith once he actually stops this madness and lets me carry out my duty in peace."

Iori placed a calming hand on her flank. It wouldn't do to let the Queen get so worked up - with her ability she could literally make life a living hell for the humans in the lower valleys. His Queen never really could control her actions that well, but the jirachi understood her pain. It really _was_ difficult to stay sane under such conditions, and he couldn't grudge her for trembling with hatred for those with the poisonous touch. He mulled over his choices. He could, of course, change the subject, then pray to whichever one of his siblings who was willing to listen - as opposed to sitting on their fat asses in preparation for an entertaining show - that the Queen wouldn't give him the cold shoulder, or he could start bad-mouthing the humans in hopes that she would listen and let the matter drop.

Honestly, was the choice really that hard?

"Look, Satsuki..." She blinked. Did he really just say her name it loud? "You can't blame others for the situation now. If anything, you should blame yourself for not making things better." Oh what did he say now? _She _was to blame?

"Iori-"

"Listen." Satsuki flinched. That commanding tone, he really was serious, wasn't he. When was the last time he spoke like that? Distortion, had Iori ever spoken like that to begin with? "Even if you don't believe that you owe Arceus anything for giving you your life, at least believe that you owe your father. Not only that, but remember those who care for you before you gained your power. What were you before the goddess of the north wind?" Satsuki stared at her paws. He was right. Who was she to judge the humans, when all she wanted to do was sully their water, making her no better than them?

She playfully batted the jirachi's cap. "Shut up." Hey, she still had her pride, and though it was dented at least it was still there. Iori growled at her, which only served to amuse her further, and to place a smirk on her face.

They lapsed into silence as they watched the golden glow crept over distant peaks. It started as a faint glow about the edges of the crags, pink and hardly tangible. Then it strengthened and crawled upwards over rocks and forests, scattering mist with a careless swipe in its mad rush for height. Once it reached the tip of the mountain range it spilled over, washing over the tranquil snow-capped peaks and lush valleys, casting light into lakes so that they reflected the splendor of dawn like shining mirrors.

"Milady,"

"Yes?"

"Don't you ever wish... That the sunrise would never end?"

"Wish?" Iori winced. The pun was wholly unintended, but the Queen, being the Queen, picked up on it anyway. "But to answer your question: No, I can't say that I ever have. Why the sudden question, hmm?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't want such beauty to ever stop, you know?" Satsuki stared at him oddly but didn't comment. "Plus," He fiddled with a wish tag. "It's when..." _When I'm with you. _"When I'm here that I can truly appreciate the wonders Arceus gave us." He cringed and looked as his feet. The faint blush on his face was an obvious enough marker for his thoughts, and he doubted his Queen could ever miss that.

He kept on calling her _his _Queen but was that actually accurate? In all the other worlds he visited, Satsuki was alone, on a conquest to dominate the entire region with an iron paw or simply wandering around purifying the lakes before humans could destroy the balance and pollute the water for good. Otherwise, she was travelling with her little sister, or - Arceus forbid - already dead. Thankfully, those worlds were rare and very close together, so the possibility of them influencing nearby dimensions was extremely low. But if what that seer in Vector said was true, then she didn't have much longer to live.

Iori mentally shook himself. What was he thinking? Dead? No. The Queen would never die. Not if he had anything to do about it. That's what the other Iori swore, right? To protect both her and their child. Although, for him it would just be to keep harm away from her, since he wasn't lucky enough to have a kid with her - by contract or otherwise. Then again, in this world at least he had a chance. After all, Satsuki wasn't enamored with little Ryuko, or stuck in a massive two-way denial with her imouto. Yet even with all that evidence backing him up he hadn't even confessed yet. Giratina curse his lack of courage.

"Iori? Please let go of my paw." Huh? His head snapped up, nearly screaming at the - dangerously - close snout. Muttering a quick apology Iori released the suicune's paw, shaking out the cramp that had set in, much to the amusement of said suicune. Did he mention how cute the suicune was when she was smiling? No? Well, she was. Cute, that is. Was that how the zorua always felt when Satsuki so much as sat beside her? Perhaps. Or could just be him, though he doubted that.

"I really have to go now. Those muddy pools will only get worse." He felt her muscles shift beneath him, and he quickly clambered away.

"Don't go - the sun... The sun hasn't fully risen yet." But it was hopeless. With a glance he could tell that it was already evening, and stuck in his reverie he hadn't even felt the burning light as it swept over him, though that might have been to do with how Satsuki had blocked the rays with her forelegs and tucked him under her chin. Come to think about it, that explained their close proximity earlier.

He grabbed onto her. "Just... Keep yourself safe, alright?"

Again that amused smile. At least he was capable of making his Queen smile, at least he was worthy of her breath-taking grin. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to say to you?" Iori cursed into her fur. Damn those humans and their biased fairy tales. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll visit you."

"After all, it's just a thousand years, right?" Iori replied, laughing hollowly. How was he supposed to describe the dream-like state that he went into everytime. How was he supposed to explain that although everyone else thought that he merely slept during his long hibernation, he was actually awake the entire time, just incapable of speech and motion?

The suicune stared at the tiny yellow figure clinging onto her leg. With a sigh she kneeled down and nudged him until he faced her. "I can't control what others do to me Iori, and neither can I control the places fate brings me to. So no, I'm sorry. I can't promise that." Satsuki stared straight into his eyes. "But I can promise that I'll come back tomorrow and watch the sunrise with you. And not just that, but the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. I'll talk to you, so you'll know I'm safe."

Iori pat her nose. How could she know that he was always conscious of her absence? How was he supposed to tell Satsuki, his one loyal friend, that despite what she said to his face, she had broken his promise every single time, and that he knew? How could he ever break her trust, and spill all those secrets onto the pristine snow between them? The answer? He couldn't. No matter how much it hurt to keep the secret safe; to ensure that all her millennia's worth of pain and anger and sorrow and hatred would never be known to others, Iori knew that the pain would be nothing compared to the betrayal in those steely blue eyes of hers. No, it'll never be worth that.

So he let her carry him back into his cave, and with what in another world might have been a loving touch place him into his cradle of unearthly crystals. With total disregard for what she said earlier, Satsuki waited as the crystals encased his legs, then his arms, and it wasn't until they crept up to his motionless mouth and covered up his eyes that she left, pausing only to whisper at his crystallised form. He watched with his mind's eye as she sealed up the cave entrance with a gust of freezing air, then effortlessly bound down the slope in near-darkness. It was only after she became one with the north wind that Iori gave up trying to track her, and fully succumbed to the ceaseless tug of all those other worlds. He would drift endlessly, and watch over all those other pokemon; all those other beings who had none to look out for them. But most of all, he would stand guard over a certain suicune, in hopes that she would never come to harm.

The entire time he'd keep her words safe too, though even in his ethereal form he understood that it was just a hopeless wish; akin to trying to balance on a rotting piece of driftwood in the middle of the open ocean.

"You know, I would like to call our daughter Haruka. Haruka Kiryuuin."

Yes, he'd keep them close.

* * *

**Done****! Thanks to Slacker for letting me use her characters, though admittedly they belong to klk first. I apologise for any oddities, since this is my second official attempt at writing fluff, and my fourth unofficial one. Plus, I'm thoroughly embarassed by the first official attempt, so hopefully I did a better job this time.**

**Also, although this wasn't strictly what I had in mind for a chapter in the Epic, I did talk a bit about the Jirachi legend, so at least there's that link.**

**Word count: 1.8k+ Did a pretty good job if I do say so myself, considering this _is_ just a one-shot. Read and review guys! And for those of you who have/ are planning to submit OCs, thanks for your contribution!**

**-Zek, 1/9/14**


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